Trip to the ER
Jackie woke up and followed the same pattern as he has in the past couple days. He seems very awake during breakfast but then quickly gets tired throughout the day. It is only initially after his naps that he seems to be fully awake and himself.
This morning he got tired even more quickly than normal. By the time he was done with breakfast he was already lethargic and speaking softer. Becca had to attend a test with one of her other patients so Jackie spent a half hour with another therapist in the morning. Becca would return at lunch with a special treat for Jackie.
After speech Jackie stayed in his room and slept in his chair. PT and the Vector machine was next. Jackie was trying to do his best, but his body just did not have the energy to put much into it. Erin and another therapist were doing a lot of the work.
We took him down to meet Becca for his surprise cheese steak, but his stomach hurt and he was too tired to eat. We got him into bed and he napped. He woke up still a little tired, but Becca heated up his sandwich and sat with him as he ate. As I mentioned before, we are having to coach Jackie a lot during his meals. Becca does not want to, but if it is necessary may have to consider restricting his diet again.
When he was finished eating he slept in his chair again. Paula came in and took him to the gym for OT; she had Dr. K observe. He was able to connect with Jackie’s neurosurgeon and they both felt it was best for Jackie to go to the ER for a CAT scan. After the scan and some other tests, the neurosurg team changed the setting on Jackie’s shunt. The new setting should hopefully give Jackie more energy.
We left Magee at 5pm and didn’t get Jackie settled back in bed until midnight. It was a long day. We saw one of the ER nurses that helped us the first time we were in Jefferson’s ER. He was great and kept checking in on us while we were there. Jim and I were both grateful that Jackie did not need to be admitted to the hospital. PTL It feels good to be back at Magee.
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